Comment Re:They said that about cell phones (Score 1) 386
Patents don't later forever so unless some miracle happens where someone else makes the technology a success within 20 years then it's pointless. This is assuming Google keeps up with the increasing maintenance costs. It's not just an inflation increase either. The patent system makes it more costly as you work your way through the 20 year term. Assuming Google keeps all their patents for the full 20 years I can't imagine anyone is going to make something similar to driverless cars or google glass a success for at least 10 years. The problem with driverless cars, as an example, isn't just whether the customers are there or not but the cost and size of lidar. Nearly half the cost of Google's driverless car is the lidar unit on the top. That is one hurdle that doesn't look like anyone is close to being able to tackle.